The Five Stages of Partnership
by geneee
Summary: Kiki has known Mitsuhide for five years, and in those five years much has changed.


**1.**

Kiki Seiran had never particularly liked parties.

They were long, tedious, and full of strangers, ones that she would most likely never come across again for months. There were greetings to be made and people to be introduced to. Beautiful but inconvenient dresses to wear that would never see the light of day again once the night was over. But the food was good and the music was pleasant, and a party meant that there was peace in the kingdom.

Even so, when she saw the chance to break away from the potential suitors that approached her, she took it. Taking a glass off a servant's tray, she retreated into the comfort of an empty alcove along the ballroom. The distant clamor of the party relaxed her. She wondered how long she could remain before someone went looking for her. She estimated about ten minutes of respite.

Light footsteps told her she had five. She brought her glass to her lips as someone ducked into the alcove, letting out a rather large sigh.

"Ha… I'm just no good with parties…" her new companion said.

She recognized him instantly. His short cropped hair and worried nature could only belong to the second prince's teenaged aide, Mitsuhide Lowen.

"I wish I could head back first…" he continued, letting out another resigned sigh.

She turned to look at him better. He wasn't much older than her, which wasn't much of a surprise. Mitsuhide was a prodigy from the Sereg Knights, and he was known for his fierce loyalty to the second prince. He was also known for his constant worrying over the second prince. She watched him lean against the wall and stare wistfully at the ceiling, probably imagining being back in his rooms or working instead of making his rounds on the floor.

When he finally noticed her, she saw surprised gray eyes.

"Excuse me! I didn't think there was already someone here…" he said, standing at attention.

"It's alright," she said, putting down her glass. "Mr. Mitsuhide Lowen, his highness Zen's aide."

His looked a little taken aback. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he regained his composure.

"Do you know me?" he asked. "…You are?"

She couldn't help but let a small smile slip onto her face.

"There will still be a chance for me to introduce myself next time," she said. And because she couldn't help herself, she added, "I'm not compatible with parties either."

Mitsuhide flushed, embarrassment all over his face. He was an open book. He was too honest.

When the young prince Zen arrived, Kiki bowed and made her exit. Yes, there would be plenty of time to introduce herself next time, when she met him as a swordsman.

 **2.**

Kiki Seiran had always taken care of herself.

It wasn't something she lamented—it was just the truth. She was capable and could do so without relying on the assistance of others. Sometimes she would catch bits of the servants' gossip about 'poor Lady Kiki,' but she never thought of it that way. If all she had was herself, then she would make do with that.

Strangely enough, the second prince had taken an interest in her, so she reported to him during her first few days in the palace. He asked that she accompany him on a trip to Sereg (an amusing development after the recent marriage proposal from the Lugis house), so she found herself spending time with the second prince and his aide.

The second prince was just a boy, she thought, though she herself was still young. Zen talked with the soldiers at Sereg excitedly, asking an unending stream of questions as Mitsuhide watched fondly. She knew the story of how he had become the second prince's aide; Mitsuhide had become quite the celebrity for a time after the incident. She briefly wondered what it would be like to have someone at her back.

"By the way, recently he's been very interested in Kiki," Mitsuhide told her with a smile.

"Really?" she asked, her tone reflecting nothing of the thought she'd just had.

Mitsuhide offered her another smile before walking toward Zen. She watched them talk, a cheerful exchange with lighthearted jabs (towards Mitsuhide of course, an aide would never say such things to their master). It was almost a familiar scenario to her, watching others talk from the sidelines. Of course, the people watching her from afar ruined the moment. She crossed her arms in lieu of a sigh. She would have to see what they were up to later.

She was thoroughly amused when Mitsuhide invited her to the men's bath house. It wasn't his fault that she chose not to dress in feminine clothes, but it was amusing nonetheless. Perhaps the possibility of becoming his colleague wouldn't be so bad. She excused herself of course, and headed toward the sound of hooves to find her stalkers.

"Kiki?"

She turned, just barely stopping her surprise from showing on her face. What was the prince's aide doing here? Glancing back at her observers, she saw one stop and realized that her clear view of them also worked against her. She almost dived, pushing Mitsuhide down under her as she ducked out of view. The undignified sound that escaped him made her want to laugh. When they finally left, she got off him and stood, watching them fade into the horizon.

"My apologies," she said, scanning the area for any more people. "You aren't hurt, are you, Mitsuhide?"

When she was met with silence, she looked back Mitsuhide, who still lay at her feet with a disbelieving expression on his face. She had yet to see such an expression on his face, and it was interesting, to say the least.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

His face lit up red, and he spluttered apologies as she realized that he had indeed just figured out she was a girl. His reaction so over the top that she couldn't help but tease him a little. "I don't really mind," she had said. "that I was mistaken as a man to the point that I was actually invited to go to the men's bath house." Mitsuhide's mortified expression was quite rewarding.

But soon enough, his expression became focused and he turned serious eyes toward her.

"Why were you hiding?"

She debated a bit on what she should tell him. The Lugis house wants to marry into prestige and power. My father has just rejected their marriage proposal. I am being stalked.

"I am being watched," she said simply.

He didn't need to know the details. She would figure out how to deal with them herself.

 **3.**

"Do you find my aide unreliable?"

Kiki paused as she drank her water. She hadn't expected to be asked that so quickly.

"No, no, that's not the case," she answered.

And she was being truthful. She didn't find Mitsuhide unreliable; she had seen the way he fought and the way he supported Zen. But her personal matters were her own, so it was only proper that she dealt with them herself.

"But still, I owe you a favor for training with me," the second prince said. "If there's anything you can just rely on us. We'll help you."

Rely on others… When was the last time she had truly done that?

So when Hisame challenged her to a duel with the stakes of marriage, she readily accepted. It was the quickest and easiest way to settle the problem. Unfortunately, she would have to inform the prince and Mitsuhide. She couldn't exactly just take time off without explanation, especially when the duel could potentially result in a life changing decision. Not that she would allow that to happen.

"Let's have a two-on-two one round duel, Kiki. I'm sure there's at least someone whom you can trust?" Hisame had said.

"So? Who have you chosen as a partner?" Zen asked when she told them.

For a moment, she entertained the thought of asking one of them to fight alongside her. That would mean sharing the burden with another. Giving her problems to someone who had no reason to be burdened with it.

"I have to protect myself, by myself," she said. "Because until now, all I had was myself."

She didn't know if it was deliberate or not, but she had implied that she could split her troubles, load them onto _someone_ _else_. And that was not a good thing.

Standing before Hisame and his partner with her sword drawn, she assured the second Lugis son that she would not speak of the duel to anyone else. It came with a promise that she would win, which was much more confident than how she felt. Then the starting signal was given, and she rushed forward.

It was clear within seconds that she was out matched. She saw Hisame coming at her from her side, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid him in time. It was the first time in a long time she had felt regret.

Then Mitsuhide appeared.

He appeared with the fiercest gaze she had seen on him yet.

Of course, Hisame wasn't too happy about that. He claimed that Mitsuhide had only gotten his position due to his swordsmanship. He had been a nameless knight who now, for some reason, believed that he deserved his place at the second prince's side.

But Mitsuhide's gaze remained clear and focused, and Kiki found herself defending him.

"If it's someone whom Prince Zen needs, then they would simply be a nameless and unworthy knight, no?"

Mitsuhide came to her side and lifted his sword. He looked forward, gaze focused on Hisame.

"Kiki. I know I'm probably just being nosy, but please let me protect you."

She couldn't stop the surprise that appeared on her face. She stared at Mitsuhide with wide eyes, disbelieving of what he'd just offered her. To take part of her burden and help her, even though he had no reason to. Even after everything she'd told them, things that had caused others to leave her to own devices, Mitsuhide was standing by her side with a promise. A promise of not only defeating Hisame, but of being at her back from now until the end. And she found herself raising her sword alongside him.

 **4.**

When did it become so natural to have Mitsuhide beside her?

Five years had passed. Zen had grown into a wonderful prince, and Mitsuhide and Kiki helped him every step of the way. He suffered, triumphed, and moved forward. He met many allies and faced opposition. They watched over him when he met Shirayuki and again when he fell in love with her. Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, a letter came from her father.

It wasn't long before she must leave the castle.

She had known for so long, and yet she had been unable to tell him. She wondered why it was so difficult. A part of her didn't want to leave the castle, and she understood that. After all, how could she not get attached to the people she worked with every day for five years? But telling Zen had been so easy. Telling Mitsuhide had never occurred. She supposed she would be paying for it eventually.

But when he told her that he would help her whenever possible, she knew that eventually became now.

"Mitsuhide," she said, sounding as if she wasn't about to break her partner's heart. "There's something I would like to tell you."

When she finally pulled him to a place where they could talk, she found that she was speechless. No matter what she told him, he would not be spared. As she racked her mind for words to say, he gave her a fond yet exasperated smile. That made what she was about to do so much worse. It took a few more moments before she finally found something to say.

"Will you always wait for me to speak first?" she asked.

"Yep, I'm willing to wait," he smiled.

Then she delivered her news, and Mitsuhide's smile fell. She tried to ignore that she was the reason for taking it away.

"You're leaving?" he echoed disbelievingly.

It's became she had to take over her family, she said. The words flowed off her tongue easily, despite being so hard to form earlier. Mitsuhide, who was too honest and too good, was now betrayed and angry, and she pretended that it didn't affect her when she felt the guilt weighing on her chest.

When he left, he wore the most frightening expression she had seen on him yet. Anger, pain, and betrayal mixed into one, and she felt regret for the second time in her life.

He stopped speaking to her unless it was about work, and he no longer sent her smiles whenever they saw each other. He would get over it eventually, she knew, but she couldn't bear another day of being ignored. So she went to him.

He was sitting in the arena they first fought together in against Hisame, and all she could think was that it was fitting. He made no indication that he'd noticed her, but she knew that he had. Just like how she always noticed him when he was nearby.

"Mitsuhide." She said. He didn't respond.

"This is already my final year," she said. "Do you plan to spend it avoiding eye contact?"

"…If I say yes, what will you do?" he asked, still refusing to look at her.

"Really? I wouldn't really mind, after all…" she trailed off, unable to resist the urge to tease him.

"The breaths we breathe will still be the same, even without eye contact," she continued.

Mitsuhide turned to her then, surprised, and she met his gaze with a rare smile.

"I came to this castle because I decided on this then," she finished.

She told him the same reasons she'd told herself of why she withheld her eventual parting from him. He listened in silence, as serious as she'd ever seen him. And when she was done, he surprised her, just a little.

"Kiki, let's have a duel."

Five years was a long time to be by someone's side, and she could see nearly every move he made before he even made them. Likewise, he easily anticipated her moves as well. Fighting together and having each other's backs was ingrained in their bodies, and she found herself thinking about her six year agreement with her father.

Then Mitsuhide surprised her again by dropping to a knee and forfeiting the duel.

"No matter where you may be, Kiki, I will always be your partner."

"I understand. I'll remember it."

They sat against the wall, gazing at the clear night sky after the duel. They joked about the future after she left and reminisced about old times. The more they talked, the more Kiki thought about her time left in the castle. This was how they had always been, comfortable and close, and she realized how much she had grown used to having Mitsuhide at her back. Closing her eyes, she leaned against him, her head against his shoulder. Mitsuhide jumped, surprised by the sudden contact because Kiki wasn't one to show physical affection.

"I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when you think it's right," she said.

She fell asleep with warmth at her side and a promise at her back.

 **5.**

"When the time comes, I'll be the one to propose."

The dumbfounded expressions her father and Mitsuhide wore almost made her laugh, but she turned and left before she could be interrogated. The ride back to the castle was silent and awkward, and she had no doubt what Mitsuhide was thinking about. For someone so honest, he really was dense. It was entertaining though, so she had no desire to elaborate, and she knew he wouldn't push for answers. Besides, telling him now would probably give her a heart attack.

Days later, her liege and prince came to her with the oddest request she'd ever been asked in her life.

"…Surely you jest," she said flatly, pinning the prince with her gaze.

It was either that or a banquet she'd be forced to attend, so she was swayed rather easily by Zen (though she heard later that she had given "the scariest answer he'd ever gotten when asking her for a favor" from Obi).

So now she was here, on a date with her liege (the strangest thing to happen to her thus far) in the castle grounds. She liked the dress she wore, but it was inconvenient if she had to fight, though she was able to hide a dagger within the skirts. She supposed she'd get used to it eventually once she took over as the head of the Seiran house, but that was a future a few years away from now.

They talked about marriage briefly, seeing as the point of the date was to ward off marriage proposals for the time being. She thought back to her declaration to her father, and of when the right time would be to do so. Zen, who had every intention of marrying Shirayuki, would not have much time left once the effects of the fake date wore off. When he changed the subject from himself to her, she realized what he was going to ask.

"Mitsuhide told me all about it. 'When the time comes, I'll be the one to propose,'" Zen said. "You never did say who it was, did you?"

"…He sure gave you a detailed report," she replied, letting out a small sigh.

"So may I ask…?" Zen trailed off, uncertain whether he should continue the conversation.

Kiki turned to him and smiled, surprising the prince before she revealed her heart.

"It's Mitsuhide."

As always, her announcements received the most interesting reactions. Zen's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but stare. After a moment, he returned to himself and smiled.

"I too feel that no one else but him can protect your back," he said warmly.

It surprised her a bit to have someone else to understand and vocalize her feelings (oh how far she had come from the beginning). Yet knowing her master supported them made her heart feel lighter nevertheless, so she leaned back against pillar and smiled.

"That's good to hear."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! This is a pretty rough version of the fic, so hopefully I'll get around to editing it someday. If not, I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**


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